3M (NYSE:MMM) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an underweight rating and a $125.00 target price on the conglomerate’s stock.

MMM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Argus raised shares of 3M from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com lowered 3M from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of 3M from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $124.43.

3M Trading Down 0.1 %

3M stock opened at $128.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a PE ratio of -10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $119.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.43. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $134.99.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 419.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 689.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company's Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.